Carolyn Boyd is a property journalist and keen follower of Australia’s housing market.

If you completely close all of your blinds and curtains or leave a lamp on when you head off for holidays, you may be signalling to burglars that your home is empty.

That's the finding of a study into the tricks of the trade for home robbers in Australia, conducted by Perth's Edith Cowan University.

Researchers from the university's school of law and justice teamed up with the Australian Institute of Criminology to interview 69 criminals who admitted to having committed a burglary.

The study found that burglaries were usually spontaneous and the homes that were most vulnerable were the easiest to gain access to.

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On average it took burglars just five to 15 minutes to break into a home and make off with cash or goods – often worth up to $5000 per home.

The biggest deterrent identified by the thieves was decidedly low-tech – the presence of a dog. About 53 per cent of offenders said a canine at a home would prevent them from committing a crime.

Short of getting a dog, the study's lead researcher, Dr Natalie Gately, says people should use their commonsense in remembering to lock doors and windows and use a house alarm.

Police suggest leaving blinds and curtains partially closed – shut enough to prevent thieves from seeing in but open enough to create doubt as to whether someone might be home.

Leaving lights on late at night was considered a poor attempt at making the house appear occupied. And other telltale signs for burglars included overflowing post boxes, uncollected newspapers and rubbish bins left outside.

Rather than leaving a light on the entire time you are away, it is suggested you set one or more lights on timers.

Stace Tzamtzidis, general manager of energy efficiency at Clipsal by Schneider Electric, says timers are one of the cheapest ways to help make your home look lived in when not at home.

"Timers ... can range from $15 to $75 depending on the brand, battery life [and] size of light," Tzamtzidis says.

Other products include motion sensors and sunset switches (some of which also have timers), which turn a light on at or near nightfall.

Despite police in many states and territories advising people to leave a radio on when they are away from home, the thieves reported that a blaring radio was often a signal that a home was empty.

Other common mistakes made by householders included:

Leaving windows and doors unlocked

Allowing access down the side of the house

Valuables in full view

Lack of an alarm or failure to switch an alarm on

Carelessly hidden spare keys

Uncollected rubbish bins

Social media status indicating homeowners are away

In a salient warning for the party season, the study also found that some robbers reported brazenly entering homes when functions were being held.

"With summer here, many of us hold parties at our houses and may not take notice of people we do not recognise," says Gately.

"We need to be alert to unknown intruders and keep the front door locked if everyone is out the back of the house."

Is your home up secure enough, or do you need to do more? And what are your top tips for keeping your home safe?

52 comments so far

Simple. Lock up the house securely. Have someone take care of your bins. If you have pets, have either a relative house sit and look after them for you or employ the services of an organisation - with a good reputation - to take care of these things for you. There are plenty out there that will do the bins, letterbox and walk Fido for you. If you are going away for more than a week, pay someone to mow the lawn. Nothing says 'not here' more than an overgrown front yard and nature strip.Also, the police have a form you can fill out with contact details for yourself. Extra handy if you are going away during the fire season (or if you live in an area where storms are likely) so they know not to be looking for you.Enjoy the break.

Commenter

Robyn

Location

Date and time

December 19, 2012, 1:23AM

Burglars are just simple businessmen Their business has a high return for the hours invested (until they go to jail) To reduce the risk of burglary simply make your home more work for less return Locked side access and garage deadlocked windows and screen doors More work and less return .....next house BTW dont put out the boxes from your Apple Ipad air mac or similar .....

Commenter

peterwalker58

Location

Date and time

December 20, 2012, 3:22PM

Pay someone to mow the lawn, eh? You do realise that same person is probably the burglar?

Commenter

Paul

Location

Date and time

December 20, 2012, 11:39PM

Never post anything about being out of the house on social media. Post your holiday photos when you get back. Never pack the car in daylight. I always pack near midnight and quietly. Never carry large expensive things into your house in daylight hours. I carry in expensive looking tv's and computers either after dark when everyone is asleep or covered in a sheet /garbage bags or both. Get an alarm or home monitoring system and install it yourself. I was broken into once about 2 months after I got an alarm system and after explicitly noting how shifty the contractor installers were. Never have people in your house you don't know.. if you must have a plumber or electrician make sure they are aren't cheap contractors or dodgy single operators and try to go for a reputable business where the owner themselves might even come out. Use a light timer when on holidays and get someone to put your bins out and collect mail. A dog is a great general deterrent.

Commenter

andrewb

Location

Date and time

January 17, 2013, 9:39AM

Another thing they do is set off home alarms, and come back later to check which alarm boxes are still flashing. Then they surely know you aren't there and haven't deactivated the alarm.

Make sure you neighbours have a remote to turn it off should it be activated.

Commenter

ChrisW

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

December 19, 2012, 10:45AM

Easy. With the amount of ( discounted shopping overseas ) one could purchase camera security systems. They are so cheap overseas compared to here. I saved $249 in total including shipping plus installation! Paid extra for a fully tracked service, now my house looks well guarded from even walking past on the street there is a camera looking at you.. It even moves if you get close to it and then follows you, then also records you. I get to even log in at work and view live !!! It's so amazing. Everything is better overseas.

Commenter

Branco

Location

Date and time

December 19, 2012, 11:27AM

Your right they're around $1000 here. I'd love to know where you got yours?

Commenter

Jono

Location

Date and time

December 19, 2012, 3:54PM

yes ...i agree...tell us more about what you bought and where please?

thanks :)

Commenter

peter

Location

Date and time

December 20, 2012, 12:44PM

Until the power is cut.

Commenter

Steve Up North

Location

Not Near You

Date and time

December 20, 2012, 7:37PM

Cheap colour motion activated camera from Jaycar around $100. Uses IP too so you can access it on a mobile 24/7